


Sophomore Slump

by SimplyShelbs16



Series: Center Will Not Hold [2]
Category: Kim Possible (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Intrigue, Mystery, Sequel, and a murder most foul, haha! just kidding there's no murder!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-27
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-05-29 15:56:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15076607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimplyShelbs16/pseuds/SimplyShelbs16
Summary: Sequel to Center Will Not Hold. It's their sophomore year of college, and the Possible/Stoppable team faces an unexpected villain and a face from the past, all while Drakken and Shego try to adjust to their new lives.





	1. Are We Growing Up or Just Going Down?

                **Do you have what I need? –D3m3nt3d**

**Do you have the money? – DCB30**

**What do you take me for? Of course I do! –D3m3nt3d**

**Meet up soon. You know the place. –DCB30**

* * *

 

                “I did no such thing,” Ron gasped in mock horror.

                “Oh yes you did. You cheated!” Kim argued back.

                “Uh, are you two gonna order already?”

                Kim and Ron looked up to see an impatient Ned looking as if he were getting too old for this job.

                “I’ll have the ‘that’s nacho platter’ and Ron will have three orders of nacos grande sized,” Kim quickly replied. Ned turned on his foot, walking away with a huff.

                “As I was saying, I did not cheat,” Ron continued. “There were no rules against what I did.”

                “You used romance—an apparent weakness of mine—and stole my car keys, Ron!” Kim exclaimed.

                “Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy it,” he smiled smugly.

                “Well, I—“ Kim stopped a moment to recall last month’s festivities.

_It was the last weekend of summer break before their sophomore year of college. It was the first annual scavenger hunt that had been Monique’s idea. Everyone was assigned a partner by Jim and Tim; Kim with Monique, Ron with Felix, and Zita with Wade._

_“Good luck,” Ron and smiled at Kim, pulling her in his arms, and dipping her, kissing her with a passion she had not been used to._

_“No fraternizing with the enemy!” Monique shouted, half-joking._

_“But the enemy is so cute,” Kim pointed out, never taking her eyes off of Ron._

_It wasn’t until Kim needed to unlock her car to start scavenger hunting that she realized her keys were missing…Ron had kissed her like that to steal her keys._

_“That cheater!” she had shouted. “Mo, he stole my keys!”_

_“I told you not to kiss the enemy!” Monique replied, her face clearly screaming ‘I told you so.’_

                “Oh, what the hell,” Kim sighed, “that was a damn good kiss.”

                “Was it?” Ron asked, suddenly unsure of himself.

                “Mhmm,” Kim assured him. They were leaning in toward each other until…

                “Have a muy bueno day,” Ned grumbled after slamming their trays down.

                “Maybe you two should keep the PDA to a minimum,” Monique suggested.

                Kim and Ron both felt their cheeks flush having forgotten that Monique was even there, eating her salad quietly.

* * *

 

                “Alright, people, listen up!” Barkin ordered. “We have a foreign exchange student in our midst, joining us for a semester.”

                “Again?” Ron groaned.

                “Shh,” Kim scolded him.

                “Give a warm Middleton welcome to Yori Tanaka,” Barkin continued.

                “Yori!?” this was spoken simultaneously.

                “Stoppable-San, Kim Possible, so good to see you again,” she smiled.

                “You too, Yori,” Kim replied, wondering the real reason the ninja was there.

* * *

 

                “Sis, you brought your—Companion? Boyfriend? Lover?” Hego scratched his head in confusion.

                “Don’t! Ever! Say! Lover! Again!” Shego shouted, blasting her plasma towards her brother.

                “Okay, okay, everybody calm down,” Mego said. “Now, let’s focus on me.”

                “Just forget it! I can’t do this! I’m outta here!” Shego yelled.

                “Now, Shego, let’s be cordial about this,” Drakken told her in an attempt to cool her down. “I know it’s a big adjustment for both of us, what with being villains for the past eight years.”

                “I just don’t think I can commit to this,” Shego replied. “It’s too much. Who said we have to be heroes or villains? Can’t we just be normal people who don’t get involved?”

                “If that’s what you want,” he assured her. “But you’ve hardly given this a try.”

                Shego groaned. “Fine, I’ll give it a week…”

                “There you go!” Drakken encouraged.

                “…But I won’t like it,” Shego muttered under her breath.


	2. Is This More Than You Bargained For Yet?

                “Stoppable-San, I’m pleased to see you again,” Yori smiled.

                “Nice to see you too, Yori,” Ron replied with his usual enthusiasm.

                Kim cleared her throat while raising her eyebrow.

                “And Kim Possible, it is equally as lovely to see you as well,” Yori continued.

                “So, what’s the sitch? There must be an underlying reason for your stay,” Kim asked.

                “Nothing either of you need to be worried about…at least not yet,” she replied kindly.

                “I don’t have a good feeling about this,” Ron muttered.

                “Well, just let us know if you need any assistance,” Kim offered.

                “Thank you,” Yori responded with a courteous bow before walking away.

                “Sneaky time,” Kim and Ron said in unison.

                “Jinx, you owe me a soda!” she exclaimed.

                “Aw, man!” Ron groaned.

* * *

                Kim peeked around the corner of Rockwaller Hall, cringing at the reminder that there was a residence hall named after Bonnie’s ritzy family. She observed Yori who was stopping other students to get information.

                “What do you think she’s up to?” Ron asked quietly.

                “I don’t know,” Kim admitted, “but I don’t have a good feeling about it.”

                “Is it a ‘she’s hiding a super dangerous mission’ feeling or a ‘Yori has joined the dark side’ feeling?” Ron questioned.

                “This isn’t Star Wars, Ron,” Kim laughed. “She’s definitely keeping us out of the loop for some weird reason.” Just then, the kimmunicator alerted them. “What’s the sitch, Wade?”

                “Dementor,” he replied simply.

                “Hopefully not in a dress again,” Ron remarked.

                “It’s actually worse. He’s somehow gotten a hold of these Mood-Compliance chips,” Wade informed them.

                “Mood…compliance?” Kim wondered. “Please don’t tell me it’s—“

                “A mix between the compliance chip and the moodulator?” Ron finished her sentence.

                “This could go very badly,” Kim stated. “Where to?”

                “Just a few miles from your location…Lowerton,” Wade told them.

                “We’re on our way!”

* * *

 

                “And now, with zeeze chips, I can control Kim Possible!!!” Dementor cackled.

                “Uh, Bil?” Myron’s voice called out.

                “Myron, vut are you doing here!? For pete sake I don’t have time for this,” Dementor ranted.

                “You know that guy who’s with Kim Possible, but doesn’t look like he belongs with Kim Possible?” Myron asked. “Well, I spotted him and there he is.” Myron pointed towards the wall by the door. It was definitely Ron, now surrounded by henchmen. He had been searching the premises with Kim, splitting up to find the secret entrance. They knocked him out to keep him from interfering with their employer’s plans.

                “Vell, he vill do,” Dementor decided just before applying the mood-pliance chip to the back of Ron’s neck.

                “Step away from him!” Kim shouted, clad in her battlesuit, ready to fight.

                “Tie her down!” Dementor demanded of his henchmen. “Ve shall chip her!”

                “Uh, I don’t think so,” Kim replied, dodging one of the men.

                “Zis is nothing short of annoying,” Dementor grumbled. “If you vaunt somezing done right, you must do it yourself!”

                “KP!” Ron shouted.

                Dementor lunged for her, but she blocked him off with her forcefield efficiently. Ron finally broke through the henchmen surrounding Kim, ready to fight and defend for her.

                “C’mon, monkey up, monkey up!” he repeated like a mantra.

                “Ron?” Kim asked, wondering why it wasn’t working.

                “Heh, I guess it comes and goes,” Ron assumed.

                In all actuality, Dementor now having control of Ron was the cause of blocking the mystical monkey powers.

                “As fascinating as zis is, I must be going,” the madman announced. Kim and Ron watched helplessly as the entire team got away. Little did they know, Ron was chipped and could be controlled from any distance.

* * *

 

                “Mego, you take the north wing. Wego, both of you take the attic, Shego, you check for secret passages,” Hego distributed the plans of their split up.

                “Um,” Drakken coughed, “what about me?”

                “You, Lipsky, will be with me, searching the East Wing,” Hego replied.

                “Oh, goodie,” Drakken muttered under his breath. “How does he know my real name? SHEGO!”

                “Ha, would ya look at the time?” she remarked before disappearing down the long hallway. The twins and Mego had left for their assignments afterward, leaving Drakken and Hego alone.

                “Now, tell me, what are your intentions with my sister?”

                Drakken shuddered at this. There was no way he was going to enjoy this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yori is hiding her mission from Kim and Ron, Ron's been chipped, and Drakken is being interrogated by Hego. Thoughts? Feelings? Predictions?


	3. Best Friends; Ex-Friends till the end; Better off as Lovers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! Sorry for the hiatus! I was in a slump of my own...a writing slump. I'm back and thrilled to be continuing this story! If y'all didn't know already, the weekend of August 3rd-5th, my bestie, Dana, and I went to Wizard World Winston Salem and met Christy and Will! It was a ton of fun! They are just the best people you'll ever meet! Also, they approved of my season 5 petition, so if you wanna sign, just google 'Kim Possible Petition' and it should be the first result! Another was is to visit my Twitter, @SimplyShelbs16, and it's my pinned tweet! xo

                “How shall ve play wiz zis?” Dementor pondered, whilst holding the device that could now control Ron. “Emotion control is less detectable, no?”

                “Uh, I guess so,” Myron replied.

                “You are no help to me, Myron,” Dementor shook his head, adjusting it to the setting he preferred: anger. He sat back, wishing he could see it for himself.

* * *

 

                Kim sat across from Monique at Bueno Nacho after returning from the mission. They were talking about the latest installment in their favorite book series when a shout alerted them. Ron sulked on the way back to the table, muttering angrily.

                “Uh, Ron, why the drama?” Kim asked.

                “I don’t have enough to grande size,” he replied in a huff.

                The metallic sound of changing hitting the booth table caught his attention.

                “There,” Kim said. “Now, you can grande size.”

                “Thanks, KP,” he smiled, his spirits lifting.

                “Boy loves his grande size nacos,” Monique remarked in amusement while Ron went to order.

                “I’m beginning to think he loves them more than me,” Kim laughed. They looked at Ron and looked back at each other.

                “Probably,” they agreed in good humor.

* * *

 

                “Wonder what this button does,” Myron muttered to himself. If Dementor knew he was messing with the control device, he’d be in deep trouble, but curiosity won out in the end.

                “Vut do you zink you’re doing, Myron!?” Dementor shouted.

                “I just wanted to see how it worked, honest!” Myron replied in defense. “I’ll put it back; where does it go?”

                “I’ll show you vere it goes!” Dementor threatened.

                They proceeded to fight over the device, which eventually flew out of their grasp, hitting the concrete floor with a loud smack.

                “Vut…vut have you done?” he asked, calmer than expected. “Zis is not acceptable!!” He turned the screen towards Myron, showing the cracked screen to him. The setting was on love, and was irreversible.

* * *

 

                “Please do not leave me alone with your brother ever again,” Drakken spoke wearily. Shego began to laugh loudly.

                “Relax, Dr. D, I totally just set you up,” she continued to laugh. “He threatened you, right?”

                “Yes, but that’s not my issue…he won’t stop singing Oh Boyz songs; they’re so yesterday,” Drakken replied.

                “Says the man who’s go-to song for karaoke night is _Hello Hello Hello_ ,” Shego teased.

                It was then that the alarm sounded.

                “Quick! Abort mission!” Hego shouted. The twins escaped with Mego, while Hego took the window.

                “The roof, quick!” Shego told Drakken. She looked around, knowing that she could make it off the building easily, but her—she had no idea what to call him—former employer was in true danger. She pressed a button on the small controller hidden in her boot.

                “Shego, I don’t think—aghhh!” Drakken screamed after she pushed him off the roof.

* * *

 

                The next day would go down in history as one of the weirdest days Kim had ever experienced. It began when she woke up to the smell of breakfast burritos.

                “Ron?” Kim asked. “What are you doing up this early? And why?”

                “Waking me out of my beauty sleep just to find out that breakfast is only for you,” Monique complained.

                “Breakfast burritos for m’lady,” Ron offered her. It was then that something seemed to change in him. “You are just the most beautilicious girl I’ve ever had the pleasure of being in the presence of.”

                “Uh, thanks, Ron,” Kim replied, unsure of how to react. Ron was always romantic in his own ways—and she loved that—but this was too forward for his style. Well, the breakfast burritos in bed were normal for him, but excessive compliments? Not usual.

                “Big plans today; are we still up for lunch today?” he asked, a skip in his step as he headed towards the door.

                “You know it,” she smiled.

                “Miss you already,” he told her as he left the dorm room.

                “That boy’s got issues,” Monique said aloud to no one in particular.

* * *

 

                “Is this seat taken?” Yori asked, looking at Kim and Monique huddled over the kimmunicator.

                “Join us, no big,” Kim smiled. “We’re just waiting for Ron; no idea why it’s taking so long, though.”

                “Attention Middleton University!” Ron shouted into a megaphone. Kim’s megaphone to be exact.

                “Oh God,” Kim spoke up immediately. “What is he doing?”

                Ron climbed on top of one of the empty tables, making a big show of whatever was about to happen.

                “Kimberly Anne Possible, I am so deeply in love with you! Without you my life has no meaning! You’re everything to me, KP!” Ron was practically shouting his love for her from the…tabletops.     As soon as Kim realized he was about to go down on one knee, she ran towards him, forcing him to get off the table and away from everyone else, who had already guessed what Ron was about to do. Their laughter faded as they left.

                “Marry me, KP, I love you,” he told her as they walked further away.

                “Ron, are you crazy!?” she asked rhetorically.

                “Crazy for you,” he replied with his goofy signature smile.

                “I’m serious, Ron,” she practically hissed. “We’re only twenty years old.”

                A flash of hurt crossed his face.

                “Hey,” she spoke softly, looking into his eyes. God, she really could get lost in those warm brown eyes. “I’m not saying that I wouldn’t marry you, but we’re too young. We’re not ready. I love you more than anything, Ron, but it’s not the time.”

                Kim cupped his face, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips, their noses affectionately nuzzling each other.

                “Come back to eat lunch?” she asked.

                “Actually, I’ve got the, um, belly flips,” Ron replied. “Not really hungry.”

                _Ron? Not hungry? Something’s wrong._

                “I’ll come check on you later; you sound seriously ill,” Kim gave a light laugh, trying to alleviate the situation. She only got a sad shoulder shrug in response as he walked away.

* * *

 

                Dementor wasn’t thrilled with Myron’s antics, immediately letting him out from under his employ.

                “And good riddance,” the mad man muttered to himself.

                “Say something, boss?” one of his henchman asked.

                “Can’t I talk to myself in peace!?” he shouted. “Vait…zere is somezing you can do for me…”

                “Uh, boss?”

                “Kidnap Kim Possible!!!” he laughed maniacally.


	4. So say what are you waiting for? Kiss her, kiss her

                _Meanwhile at the Go Tower…_

                “I cannot believe you,” Drakken grumbled.

                “Oh, stop whining,” Shego shot back. Her brothers did nothing but watch the drama unfold.

                “You pushed me off a building!” Drakken shouted back at her.

                “But did you die!?” Shego asked. “Besides, I knew you’d land in your hover car, Dr. D.”

                “Oh, did you now? And how did it happen to even be there? We didn’t take the hover car, and now I’ve almost died—“ He stopped ranting when his brain caught up to the bigger picture. “You called the hover car with the control, didn’t you?”

                “Doy,” Shego replied with a roll of her eyes, “like I’d push you off the roof if I didn’t know. I wouldn’t let you die.” She realized what her words must have sounded like. “I mean—“

                “I know perfectly well what you meant,” Drakken told her, his voice calm.

                “Well, this has been sufficiently awkward,” Mego spoke up. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have more important things to worry about like—“

                “Me,” everyone else finished his sentence in a mocking tone.

* * *

 

                It was late afternoon by the time Kim was heading towards the dorm hall. She wanted to check on Ron before getting a start on her homework. He looked so hurt at her rejection, and she hoped she could cheer him up with some nacoliciousness and crucial makeout time.

                Just before reaching the doors to the dorm hall, she felt two pairs of large arms take her down. The food fell out of her grip, and she kicked both henchmen as hard as she could in an attempt to gain the upper hand. As soon as she freed herself, another henchman approached her, covering her mouth with a drugged cloth—with chloroform. She felt dizzy, everything in her sight beginning to turn upside down.

                “Hey, don’t you dare! I will mess y’all up!” Monique approached with Yori by her side. “Well, she’ll mess y’all up.” She let out a short laugh, allowing Yori to take on the fighting.

                “Get Stoppable-San,” Yori called out to her.

* * *

 

                Approaching Ron and Felix’s room, Monique knocked frantically.

                “Ron! Open up! Kim’s in danger! Yori needs help,” she called out to him in a panic.

                “Kim’s in danger!?” Ron asked. “I’m on it!”

                Monique scrunched her eyebrows when she caught sight of a device on the back of Ron’s neck.

                “Ron, wait!”

                “What? We don’t have time!” he shouted.

                “Give me some diablo sauce,” Monique urged him.

                “What makes you think I have diablo sauce on me?” asked Ron.

                Monique raised her eyebrow in question.

                “Fine,” he sighed, handing a packet over.

                “Hold still,” she demanded, ripping open the sauce packet. As the drop began to slip out, Monique asked, “Did you really try to propose earlier?”

                “Why wouldn’t I? She’s everything I ever dreamed of. I’m just lucky she so happens to be my best friend,” he explained dreamily. He felt himself relax once the sauce hit the chip, deactivating it. Monique caught the chip as it fell, and handed it to Ron.

                “Well, this is gonna be awkweird,” he realized. “I gotta help Yori save Kim!”

                He ran outside to find Yori still trying to hold off the henchmen from taking Kim, who was lying on the ground. Ron lifted her into his arms, sitting her up on the stairs, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead before going off to fight.

                “We need backup,” one of the henchmen spoke into his communicating device. It was then that three more henchmen approached the scene. They had been waiting in case they were needed.

                “This does not bode well for the Ronster.”

* * *

 

                When Kim woke up, her head was throbbing. As her eyes adjusted, she took in her surroundings. She was definitely in Dementor’s lab, and tied up to some sort of doomsday machine, no less.

                “Ah, look who’s awake,” Dementor smirked. “It seems your ‘so-called boyfriend’ is out too. Such a pity.”

                “Ron!” Kim shouted when she saw him lying on the ground, unconscious.

                “He put up quite a fight, but zere was no time to fool around,” Dementor explained.

                “ _Just chip her already!_ ” a voice hissed at Dementor through his communication device.

                “I am getting to ze chipping!” he yelled back.

                The voice through the device sounded vaguely familiar to Kim, but she couldn’t quite place it. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Ron had started waking up. She slipped a nail file out of her pocket and worked on freeing herself while Dementor was distracted. It didn’t take much to get through the thin rope that held her.

                “Where’s Yori?” she asked.

                “Vut!? How did you get free? You have no gadgets on you,” Dementor complained.

                “Nail files are very handy; you underestimated me,” Kim informed him. “Now, where’s Yori?”

                “The ninja girl? Had her left behind…I had no need for her,” Dementor explained. “Now, henchmen, attack Kim Possible!!”

                “Ugh, I so don’t have time for this,” Kim complained. Now that she was fully aware of what she was up against, nothing could stop her. Ron finally woke to the sight of two henchmen knocked out already. Six more left. Ron stood, digging in his pockets for something helpful.

                “Get away from her!” he shouted. “I’ve got…soap? And I’m not afraid to use it!”

                Kim covered her mouth with her hand, giggling.

                “Why do have soap in your pocket?” she asked.

                “It’s actually a travel size bottle of the body wash you use,” he explained, turning crimson. “I, uh, like to have it open when I sleep.”

                “Aww, that’s so sweet! Weird, but sweet,” she remarked while punching one henchman square in the face. She must’ve packed enough power, cause he fell like a log. “The bigger they are, the harder they fall.”

                Together, Kim and Ron took out the henchmen two by two, until there was only Dementor to deal with.

                “Hand over the stolen microchip!” Kim demanded.

                “I’ll have you know I bought zis microchip!” Dementor shouted.

                “Who sold it to you?” Kim asked, grabbing his wrist.

                “I don’t know his real name…he goes by DCB30, zat’s all I know!” the mad man replied. “Now, let me go!”

                “Oh, sure, we’ll let you go,” Ron spoke calmly. “Here, let’s lead you right out the door ourselves.” Before he made it known he was awake, Ron had already called the police.

                “Another mad scientist,” the officer shook his head. “Thanks for the call, Stoppable.”

                “Nice work, Ron,” Kim smiled giving him a high five as the office took Dementor away.

                “KP, about earlier—“

                “We’ll talk later tonight, okay?” she offered. “What we need is food, and then we’ll discuss.”

                Ron nodded in agreement.

                “C’mon, let’s ace this place!”

* * *

 

                _Later that night…_

                “So, spill…what was that display at lunch earlier?” Kim asked.

                “This.” Ron held open his hand which held the small chip that had been latched onto the back of his neck. “Dementor must’ve stuck it on me on our first run in.”

                “This looks like the moodulator,” Kim observed. “Dr. Bortel had told me that it only enhanced the real emotions we feel; enhanced cause it only focuses in on one emotion at a time. It must’ve been on anger, then love.”

                “Like when you were under its influence!” Ron pointed out.

                “Which means somewhere in your subconscious, you have thoughts of marrying me someday,” Kim smiled.

                “Maybe,” Ron blushed. “But not for a while.”

                “Agreed,” Kim replied, her right hand finding his left, lacing her fingers through his. “How lucky am I that my best friend is the love of my life?”

                The look in Ron’s eyes was all she needed to see to know where this night was going.

                It started with one soft kiss, turning into multiple. With his right hand in her auburn hair, Ron deepened each kiss, only breaking once to tell her he loved her.

                “I love you, too,” Kim murmured back, clearly not through with this moment they were having.

                A half hour later, Monique found them curled up on the floor with all the blankets and pillows Kim had been able to throw together. She took a moment to observe her friends. If one moved, the other would follow, like two magnets. At one point, Kim had kissed the side of Ron’s neck in her sleep. Monique was happy for her friends; they deserved all the happiness in the world. She decided to just shut off the lamp and slip into her own bed.

                And that’s when the kimmunicator went off.

 


	5. And it's Our Time Now if you Want it to be

                “What’s the sitch, Wade?” Kim asked, sleepily. She nudged Ron awake gently.

                “Oh, hey, Wade,” he yawned.

                “Received a hit on the site from Dr. Bortel,” Wade told her. “Remember him?”

                “How could I forget? His inventions are ferociously unethical,” Kim replied. “What’s been stolen this time?”

                “His mood-compliance chips; apparently, they’re a mix of the neuro-compliance chips and the moodulators,” Wade informed her.

                “Like the ones Dementor had,” Kim began putting the pieces together. “He said he bought his though…whoever he bought it from must’ve stolen it from Bortel.”

                “KP, Dementor told us he bought it from DCB30,” Ron pointed out.

                “Yeah, but that doesn’t give much away. It sounds like a product number,” Kim remarked.

                “Look at the back of the chip that was on me,” he suggested, handing it to her. She turned it over, and found DCB30 etched into the back.

                “Wade can you scan this for prints?” Kim asked.

                “Sure thing, Kim, just hold the kimmunicator at arm’s length from the chip,” he told her. She did as she was told, and when the results came back, only five sets of prints were found that ever touched the chip—Bortel’s, Dementor’s, Monique’s, Ron’s and Kim’s.

                “Interesting…what was his first name again?” Ron asked.

                “Cyrus. Why?” Kim answered.

                “DCB30,” Ron said again.

                “Doctor Cyrus Bortel,” Kim realized. “We’re on it, Wade!”

                “KP, are you crazy!? It’s a trap!” Ron spoke frantically.

                “Yes, but he doesn’t know that we know it’s a trap,” she replied. “We have the element of surprise on our side now. Time to suit up.”

* * *

 

                “So, you never told me who this villain is,” Drakken piped up when Mego left the room.

                “He calls himself The Knave,” Shego explained with a roll of her eyes. Going into further detail, Drakken learned that Team Go had never gone up against this villain before. The Knave’s Victorian home that they had been searching through had been in his family for years. He was a man of his own invention…quite literally. His right arm was mechanical, and was entirely built by himself.

                “And what is the reason we were searching his house again?” Drakken asked.

                “He’s built an army of automatons, but they’re nowhere to be found,” Shego replied.

                “Robots!?” Drakken laughed heartily. “Been there done that. If I couldn’t take over the world with little diablos, what makes him think he can?”

                “Probably because his doesn’t need a command signal, so they’ll be unstoppable once they’re active,” Shego jabbed.

                “Hence why you’re trying to find these automatons before they’re activated,” Drakken put together.

                “Now you’re getting it,” she remarked. “Took ya long enough.”

                “Well, excuse me if I didn’t have every piece of the puzzle,” Drakken argued. “No need to get snarky.”

                “Shego is always snarky,” Hego piped up, walking in on their conversation.

                “Well somebody should tell her, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar,” he fumed.

                “What if I don’t even want any flies!?” Shego shouted. “I’m only doing this stupid hero work because you”—she pointed at Drakken, her hands glowing—“took more interest in doing good after helping Possible and Stoppable save the world!”

                “Because I’m actually good at it!” Drakken pointed out angrily. “I’ve found my calling, and if you don’t want any part of this, I’m surely not the one keeping you here!”

                “You’re right; no one’s keeping me here,” she snapped. “I’m gone, and when I take over the world, you’ll all be sorry.” With that, she slammed the door behind her, leaving Go Tower for the foreseeable future.

* * *

 

                “Yori, why haven’t you told Stoppable-San of the mission?” Sensei’s mystical image was conjured up in her temporary dorm.

                “I am sorry, Sensei, but I do not feel he and Kim Possible should be put into danger if there’s truly nothing to worry about,” Yori replied.

                “Regardless, they should be warned at the very least. Just because the fate of their lives keeps changing does not mean there is nothing to worry about. What is it they say? Better to be—“

                “Safe than sorry,” Yori finished. “I understand, Sensei. I’ll tell them in two days’ time.”

                “See that you do, Yori…the fate of the world may depend on it.”

                His image faded, and the young ninja felt plagued by the fact there may or may not be a war on the horizon.

* * *

 

                Shego spent her time fuming in the old lair she and Drakken had most of their memories in. She remembered thinking how the sign claiming it was haunted was a little much. The moment she left her brothers in search of evil work, he took her in—the first person she applied for such a job with. Drakken had always been eccentric, and though his common sense wasn’t existent, he did have a knack for plans.

                If it hadn’t been for that mole rat, the little diablo plan would’ve succeeded. They were basically thwarted by a naked mole rat. But, yet, when it came to stopping the Lowardians, even one of the most dumb ideas he had seemed to have an effect on helping save the world. His first time trying to be good, and it worked. He was probably never cut out for evil to begin with.

                Just thinking about Drakken made Shego fume. She began hitting everything with her plasma in a rage of frustration. If she couldn’t stand him, then why did she always find herself thinking about him every time she left? Why did he plague her even when he wasn’t around to annoy her? Where was that memory device that had wiped Possible’s memory that one time?

                Her brothers and Drakken would be going back to face The Knave tomorrow. They’d all be destroyed if he activated those automatons. Only her plasma could fry their mechanics. She was staying evil, no matter what. If that were true though, why did she have a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach? And why did she care whether her brothers and former employer lived or died?

                _Because you care._

                Her heart didn’t grow three sizes or whatever that Grinch tale says. No, in this moment, Shego realized that she always had a heart. If she didn’t, then why did she save Possible from Warmonga early on? More importantly, when the attitudinator hit her, she wouldn’t have had her good side exposed if there hadn’t been any good in her to begin with. Even now, she realized that she no longer felt animosity towards Team Possible. So, what did that say about her?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise there's a reason for these multiple storylines lol, just hang in there, y'all!


	6. We Don't Fight Fair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The two big fight scenes are in this chapter. I know it's long, but it's all been leading up to this. Epilogue will be up shortly after!

Sneaking into a villain’s lair was always the easiest part of the job. It helped that Doctor Cyrus Bortel was expecting them anyways. But _he_ didn’t know that. Ron followed Kim through the ventilation system, stopping when they heard the doctor’s voice through the grate.

“Let us see who the highest bidder will be!” he mused to himself.

“Textbook villainy,” Ron commented.

“Oh, yeah,” Kim replied quietly. She crawled to the other side of the grate, preparing to bust it open. “Ready?”

“Whenever you are,” he confirmed.

The clattering of the grate against the floor captured Bortel’s attention, as did the sight of Kim and Ron landing right where he expected them to. This set off his trap; a large cage began to form around them. He, of course, did not expect the duo to know that it was a trap, but he should’ve known better. Before the top of the cage came down on them, Kim grabbed ahold of Ron and shot her grappling hook, swinging themselves out of it just in the nick of time.

“Sorry, Doctor Bortel, but I’m afraid you’ll have to do better than that,” Kim remarked.

“Tsk Tsk. Selling to the highest bidder on a black-market site for villainy? Shame on you, Dr. B,” Ron shook his head.

“And you were the one who ended up getting chipped,” Bortel spoke with great annoyance. “She was supposed to have been out of the way!”

“What do you have against me!?” Kim inquired angrily. ”I recovered your inventions twice! The compliance chip, the moodulators, and the electromagnetic accelerator!”

“Like you have to ask!” he shouted. “Global Justice took your word of warning seriously about my compliance chip. The ones you believed to be ‘ferociously unethical.’”

“Uh, cause they were ferociously unethical,” she pointed out.

“Because of you, I lost funding, and had no choice but to sell to villains,” Bortel explained. “But no matter, cause I’ve got henchmen!”

   Uniformed henchmen in black and grey came from all corners of Bortel’s lab. They wasted no time to attack them. Kim did a back handspring away from the cluster of them up ahead of her. One by one, she dodged and fought off. Ron successfully disarmed ray guns out of the bigger guys’ hands. His pants caught on a jagged piece of metal before being torn from him completely.

“Aw, man, even in college!” he complained.

“What happened to the belt?” Kim laughed, immediately defeating two more henchmen.

“Still attached; no time to get it now,” he replied, breathing heavily as he used tai shing pek kwar on the unsuspecting henchmen. Ron had improved greatly on his preferred fighting style after having spent a month of last summer vacation at Yamanouchi to further his training.

Sure, it looked silly to anyone on the outside for Ron to be fighting even after losing his pants for the umpteenth time, but Kim found it rather charming. It was a part of his essential Ron-ness—the very core of him that made her love him even more.

Cyrus weaved in and out of the chaos around him, seeking out his rival. Being surrounded on all sides didn’t give Kim time to notice before it was too late. Bortel had already successfully implemented his plan for the compliance chip. Kim Possible was now under his control.

“I demand that you destroy Ron Stoppable!” he commanded her. “Henchmen that are still conscious, let us watch.”

“Yes, Doctor Bortel,” she replied monotonously.

“Alright, KP, I know you’re still in there somewhere,” Ron spoke with caution.

“Must destroy Ron Stoppable,” was all she said before throwing the first punch. Ron ducked just in time. He backed further away from her.

“Kim, I don’t wanna fight you,” he told her. “I know you can hear me.”

Her face softened slightly, giving Ron the hope he needed, but it was quickly replaced with a face of determination of a minion that wanted to carry out their mission.

“This does not bode well,” Ron sighed in defeat before taking the proper stance.

* * *

 

Her brothers and Drakken would be at The Knave’s Victorian lair by now. Shego paced the old lair that had been her home for years, contradicting thoughts plaguing her mind.

_What if her brothers died?_

She’d be left without a family. Digging deeper, she conjured up memories of her childhood, long before they had gained the powers they had. It wasn’t a bad childhood for the most part. Their mom raised them alone for most of the twins’ life. They were the youngest. It was a blessing that they couldn’t remember their father. Howard Gordon abandoned his family only two months after the twins were born. Shego had only been four years old.

It had been a long time since any of them went by their birth names. Hego was the oldest—originally named Henry Gordon—followed by Shego only a year later. Sheena had been the name she was given. Nobody had called her that since they gained their powers. Mego—born two years after Shego—was Melvin, and the twins—born another two years after Mego—were Wesley and Wendell.

_What if Drakken died?_

                Sure, he succeeded in helping save the world, but that didn’t mean he was capable of a full-on fight. He would be the first to go. There were plenty of times where Shego could easily picture a life without him—especially when she tried to search for new employment—but in this moment, it was impossible. Yeah, they bicker with each other a lot, but she’d be lying if she said she wouldn’t miss it. Time was running out. In another hour or so, they all might be dead.

 _No_ , she decided. _I need to save them. All of them_.

* * *

 

Surprised by his successful backflip, Ron ran straight for Bortel. He needed to get to that phase disrupter. The henchmen did all they could to stop him but Ron was faster. However, Kim flipped over him, landing between Bortel and her boyfriend. The now mad doctor zapped Kim with another device, a red glow emanating from it.

“What did you just do!?” Ron asked in a panic, clearly angry.

“Jack Hench made a portable version of the attitudinator; I simply turned Miss Possible evil,” Cyrus explained. “However, the only setback is that this portable one doesn’t take out the good; it just makes the evil overpower it.” He used his phase disrupter to release the compliance chip off of Kim, as it was no longer needed.

“Ron Stoppable you are going down,” Kim growled.

“Uh oh,” Rufus squeaked, jumping out of Ron’s pocket.

They fought at an almost even level. Kim was well versed in sixteen styles of kung fu, whereas Ron only had tai shing pek kwar to rely on.

“C’mon, KP, don’t you remember our halfaversary? You told me you loved me for the first time,” Ron tried to snap her out of it.

“Ha! Love you!? There’s nothing worth loving,” she retorted.

“That didn’t hurt at all,” Ron replied sarcastically. “I know it’s not really you saying that, KP.”

Kim landed a kick that sent him flying towards Bortel. The control was knocked out of the doctor’s hand, and Ron dove for it. He fumbled with his grip on it until finally getting a good aim on Kim. The evil put into her retracted as her goodness restored itself.

As soon as she was back to her natural Kim-ness, her mouth opened in horror at what she had just done to the man she loved. She saw him shake his head as if to tell her there’s no time to waste. He picked up Rufus, placing him in his pocket. As the last few henchmen approached her.

“Ron!” Kim shouted, getting his attention. It took less than two seconds for Ron to know exactly what she needed. His hands at the ready, she flipped towards him—her feet landing perfectly in his hands—and he helped launch her at the last trio of henchmen. With two punches and a roundhouse kick, they went down like falling trees.

“Booyah, KP!” Ron exclaimed enthusiastically.

“Heh, maybe I should just, uh, leave now,” Bortel tugged at his coat nervously. He ran for the door, which opened just in time for Global Justice agents to surround the place.

“I’ll take it from here, Kimberly,” Will Du spoke arrogantly.

“Mhm, yeah, see that you do,” Kim replied. “Don’t forget who did all the hard work.” She gestured to Ron and herself. She then turned to him. “You okay?”

“I’m fine, KP; you actually went easier on me than expected for an evil-minded version of you,” he laughed.

“I’m sorry; I know it wasn’t really me, but I’m still sorry,” she told him solemnly. “I can’t believe I hurt you.”

“Kim, seriously, it’s all good. I hurt you when Dementor had control of your battlesuit. Let’s just call it even,” he joked.

The kimmunicator went off.

“Go, Wade.”

“I found out one other villain that Bortel had sold inventions to,” Wade informed her.

“Who and where?” Ron asked.

“Ever hear of The Knave?”

* * *

 

Shego crept through the old Victorian house. She heard voices through the grate in the floor. She searched for the stairs leading to the basement. A door in the laundry room caught her eye. Logically, it should be a linen closet, but upon opening it up, a set of stairs greeted her.

The floor in another part of the house creaked. It sounded closer than she would’ve liked. Her hands now aglow, Shego prepared for a fight, watching the door get pushed open.

“Huh?” all three occupants voiced in confusion.

“What are you doing here, Princess? I don’t recall this villain being under your jurisdiction,” Shego pointed out.

“He’s got a device that we need to retrieve for GJ,” Kim replied. “What are _you_ doing here?”

“New employer?” Ron guessed.

“Ugh, as if,” Shego scoffed. “My brothers and Drakken are trying to go up against him and his army of automatons.”

“Which apparently haven’t been activated,” Kim remarked.

The house began to rumble and shake from the ground up.

“They are now, c’mon,” Shego led them down the stairs into the dark. Upon reaching the basement, they found it was empty.

“Are they invisible?” Ron whispered to Kim.

“Not likely,” she replied.

All at once, the floor dropped from beneath them, causing them to fall into a large pile of empty cardboard boxes.

“Nice of you to drop by,” The Knave remarked in his posh English accent. His mechanical arm ticked like a clock.

“Kim, he’s armed!” Ron shouted.

“No kidding,” she replied.

Team Go was fending the automatons off as much as they could while a select few were advancing toward Shego, Kim, and Ron in a rage.

“Dude, I am so up in arms over this,” Ron quipped. Kim couldn’t help but laugh.

Looking around, Shego felt panicked for the first time.

“Where’s Drakken!?” she shouted.

“The chap with the blue skin? Had to do away with him,” The Knave replied all too quickly, a smirk on his face.

“Find him,” Kim told Shego after noticing the worried expression on her face. “We can fend them off until you do; we’ll find a way to supercharge your plasma energy.”

With a nod in understanding, Shego raced through the underground corridor. There were so many tunnels to choose from; she had no idea where to go. For all she knew, Drakken was dead. How The Knave phrased it sounded so final.

Following her intuition, she took the tunnel to the left, trying to convince herself that he was alive. If he wasn’t, she’d know it. She was led to a dead end, much to her dismay. Upon seeing the sconce on the wall, a trickle of hope was restored.

“Please work,” she whispered as she pulled it like a lever. The wall opened up, revealing an old prison of sorts. There, she found a barely conscious Drakken chained against the wall. There were bruises on his face, and singe marks on his coat, but he was okay. “You’re okay.”

“Shego?” he muttered, wincing in pain as she released the shackles from his wrist.

“Can you walk?”

“Yes, I believe I can.”

“Good; we need to find something that can supercharge my plasma blasts,” Shego told him.

“Could this work?” he asked, pointing at a device on the table in the room.

“Is that—you’re a genius!”

Drakken allowed himself to take pride in that.

* * *

 

“How do we stop these things!?” Ron panicked, running around while dodging them.

“I don’t”—she kicked one out of the way—“know.”

“Hey, robot arm!” Shego called out. “Let’s see how you like to have your army fried!” She signaled for her brothers, Kim, and Ron to take cover.

“Try this for a deep fry,” Drakken added before the device in his hand distributed the plasma energy all across the room. Shego was feeding the machine her energy as it was releasing it in a wide spectrum.

“My automatons! No, what have you done!” The Knave shouted. He ran towards them, grabbing at the machine with his mechanical arm.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Shego told him, redirecting her blasts at his fingers so he’d loosen his grip.

Kim swung on her grappling hook, kicking The Knave back and into a fallen automaton. They were all destroyed; their circuits completely fried. The police arrived shortly after to take him in.

“So, Drakken, that machine doesn’t happen to have a DCB30 on there does it?” Kim asked.

“It does; how did you know?” he asked in surprise. “What are you and the buffoon even doing here!?”

“My name is—“

“Ron Stoppable, I know.”

Everyone’s jaws dropped.

“We’re here to retrieve the device for Global Justice,” Kim told him. ”I’ve no reason to believe you’ll hand it over, but—“

“Take it; I don’t need it,” he replied.

“So…” Ron began. “Awkward.”

“Little bit,” Shego admitted.

It was a blessing when Wade cut through the tension with his call.

“Hey, Wade, I’ve got Bortel’s device,” she informed him.

“Great! GJ will be there to pick you up!”


	7. Epilogue

“Why didn’t you tell us!?” Ron shouted.

“Normally, I’d say Ron was overreacting, but he’s right; why didn’t you tell us?” Kim asked.

“I apologize,” Yori replied. “Sensei can see Stoppable-San’s destiny—yours too—and it is usually straightforward.”

“But…” Kim encouraged.

“But every possible path is converging, leaving him in the dark. There may be a battle on the horizon, and there may not be,” Yori explained. “There was an attack at Yamanouchi last night. This changes things.”

“It certainly does, but how are we supposed to stop whatever it is if we don’t know _what_ it is,” Ron pointed out.

A loud explosion had them all ducking. One of the cars in Bueno Nacho’s parking lot burst into flames.

The kimmunicator went off.

“Wade, what’s going on!?” Kim asked. “A random car just blew up.”

“I have a video message sent to the site for Ron,” he told them.

All three of them watched the screen as it played. A face appeared that was familiar to both Yori and Ron.

“Hello, outsider.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhanger! This sets y'all up for the 3rd and final installment of this series!

**Author's Note:**

> Yori has returned...but what does she know? Drakken is more willing than Shego to adjust to a life of heroism, but how will that work out?


End file.
